News Details

Governor’s Innovation Expo Recognizes State Agencies for Efforts to Save Money, Increase Efficiency and Improve Service

​News for
Immediate Release

July 23,
2014

Harrisburg – Seven state agencies were
recognized for their efforts to improve government operations by reducing
costs, increasing productivity and improving services. The awards were
presented on Tuesday at the Governor’s Innovation Expo in Harrisburg.

Since 2011,
state agencies have completed 275 innovation initiatives worth a combined $690
million in cost savings and productivity gains. An additional 185 initiatives
are currently in progress, with the potential for additional savings.

“Our efforts to improve technology, consolidate functions and share services
across agencies have allowed us to reduce administrative spending by 10 percent
in three and a half years,” Governor Corbett said. “In the process, we are
providing better service to Pennsylvanians and improving how they interact with
state government.”

“Through
innovation, we are changing the culture of state government from clinging to
the status quo to embracing constant improvement,” said Secretary of
Administration Kelly Powell Logan. “These awards are intended to recognize the
many positive changes that are taking place across our state agencies and how
they are benefiting the people of Pennsylvania.”

Innovation
of the Year Awards

Eleven state
agencies presented their innovation initiatives to a panel of judges from the
private sector, who evaluated and selected winners in the following categories:

PennDOT
understands the importance of engaging stakeholders in the decision-making
process of advancing innovative solutions, which demonstrates the creation of
the State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC). The STIC is a
multi-stakeholder approach that is co-chaired by the Secretary of
Transportation and Federal Highway Administration’s Division Administrator to
improve the evaluation, selection and implementation of innovative solutions to
modernize the state’s transportation system. STIC members also include
representatives from the major trade associations, local governments and
research institutions.

The
Department of Revenue has contracted with Revenue Solutions Inc. (RSI), a
company with experience in fraud identification and access to advanced
analytical, technological and data tools, to assist in the identification of
fraudulent and erroneous refund filings – most commonly overstated unreimbursed
employee business expenses and incorrectly reported wages or withholding from
W-2s. The contract is innovative in that the vendor’s compensation is based on
the percentage of revenue collected or retained; the more new tax revenue the
contractor discovers, the more it gets paid. Revenue's initiative has resulted
in $7.4 million in savings, as of July 11.

Best
Human Services Innovation: Department of Public Welfare – #Meet the Kids

The Department of
Public Welfare’s Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) launched the
#MeetTheKids campaign to recruit resource families who are willing to accept
placement of older foster youth into their homes so they are not placed in
congregate (group) care settings. The campaign features 12 Pennsylvania foster
youth filming themselves and each other while discussing foster care and their
need for a permanent family. The campaign has been shared nation-wide through
various websites and on Facebook and Pennsylvania has received praise from such
organizations as AdoptUSKids and the North American Council on
Adoption.

The Office
of Administration is partnering with local higher education institutions to
partner teams of students with state agencies to develop new mobile web
applications. The program provides agencies with access to in-demand technology
skills and allows them to provide new information and services to the public.
The students gain valuable real-world experience working with a client and
exposure to the commonwealth as a potential future employer. The Mobile PA
Challenge was successfully piloted with Harrisburg University for Science and
Technology, and will be expanded this fall to include Harrisburg Area Community
College, Penn State Harrisburg and many State System of Higher Education
schools.

Best
Customer Service Innovation: Public Utility Commission - PA Power
Switch/Standard Offer Program
The PUC Standard Offer Program is a new program, made available to all
residential and small business customers who have not shopped their electric
generation with a competitive supplier, as well as shopping customers who
specifically inquire about the program. The PUC consulted stakeholders,
including utilities, electric suppliers, consumer advocates and others, and
incorporated their input into the final implementation across all PA electric
utilities. Through May 2014, more than 200,000 customers have enrolled, with savings
estimated at approximately $19 million.

Innovation
Display Awards

A total of 21
innovation initiatives by 19 state agencies were on display during the
Governor’s Innovation Expo. A second panel of guest judges evaluated and
selected the top three: